What is fracking? Is it legal? Who is for it and who is against it?

Fracking can be used to extract more oil and gas from the ground but can have catastrophic effects on the local environment and the health of residents.

A shortening of ‘hydraulic fracturing’, the practice involves water, sand and chemicals being injected into the ground at extremely high pressures, allowing miners to release oil and gas trapped beneath rock.

Fracking has been in use since 1949 but became much more common in the mid-2000s when companies began combined it with more traditional methods like horizontal drilling.

Like many lucrative practices, fracking comes with environmental worries. One of the most serious issues is the potential contamination of drinking water sources. A Greenpeace study in Pennsylvania found systematic evidence of methane contamination in household drinking water near drilling operations.

In Lancashire, Great Britain, numerous tremors were recorded near a fracking site, including some of the largest earthquakes in the country’s history.

Is fracking legal in the United States?

Yes, there is no federal ban on fracking and the practice is allowed by most local authorities.

During campaigning for the 2020 presidential election Donald Trump sought to paint Joe Biden as an anti-fracking candidate, despite Biden’s repeated claims that he would not ban fracking.

“Let me be clear, and I know this always comes up. We’re not going to ban fracking,” Biden told reporters back in 2020.

But while Biden has consistently opposed a nationwide ban on fracking, he has taken steps to limit the gas and oil industry since taking office. In January 2021, just days into his presidency, Biden introduced a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal land and water areas.

The President unveiled it as part of an initiative known as “30 by 30,” which aims to grant protected status to 30% of the nation’s land and water by the year 2030.

But while there is no federal law against fracking, the practice is restricted by various local government and state authorities in certain areas.

Fracking: who is for and against?

The debate over fracking is largely one of priorities, with authorities having to weigh up the relative importance of abundant oil and gas, versus the demonstrable impact on the environment.

Often Republican lawmakers are on pro-fracking, seeing the economic benefits as the top priority. A statement issued on behalf of the Republicans of the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee explains:

“Republicans know that policies that would outright ban or regulate fracking out of existence are the wrong answer for American workers. We can and should be good stewards of the environment, and this is a point on which both parties agree.”

The Democrats, in contrast, are more split on the subject, but broadly agree that fracking should be subject to some restrictions to ensure that the environmental damage does not outweigh the economic benefits. From the Progressive wing of the party, however, there is a real desire to outlaw the practice entirely, like the old Ban Fracking Act.

“Fracking is a danger to our water supply. It’s a danger to the air we breathe, it has resulted in more earthquakes, and it’s highly explosive,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders back in 2020. “To top it all off, it’s contributing to climate change. If we are serious about clean air and drinking water, if we are serious about combating climate change, the only safe and sane way to move forward is to ban fracking nationwide.”

It it is a battelground this election. Fracking is particularly important in swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, and New Mexico. These states have strong support for fracking due to the thousands of residents employed in the fossil fuel industry.

Pennsylvania, the second-largest gas producer in the US and a state Harris leads by a single point, carries 19 electoral votes. These can’t be discounted come November.